SIGNAL Connections

The Asia-Pacific region has been strategically important to the United States since the country realized it was as much a Pacific nation as it was an Atlantic one. The United States demonstrated that it was a global power when it sent its Great White Fleet to visit faraway countries that many Americans had never visited. Conflicts and colonies followed, and now the nation has many standing defense treaties and a military presence that spans half the globe.

Many government agencies are moving to an everything over Internet protocol (EoIP) environment to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. While the benefits of these initiatives can be substantial, transitioning to a converged EoIP infrastructure can be challenging, particularly for large organizations.

What looks like a phone and works like a phone but is really a computer? Pretty much any device classified as a “smartphone.” And while the devices do send and receive voice signals, the security necessary to keep them and the networks they connect to safe is more closely related to the personal computer than the telephone.

NATO is transforming itself as it approaches its 60th birthday. While change is nothing unusual for the alliance, the scope and nature of its military commitments shift from simple defense to peacekeeping, so the national armies operating under NATO’s banner must be able to function together harmoniously in the field. While harmony is vital in the era of network-centric warfare, achieving it remains a challenge.

As new media and the phenomenon of Web 2.0 continue to evolve at lightning speed, one new term that seems to have some staying power is “social media.” And as social media becomes more popular with people of all ages, agencies must take a closer look at one-size-fits-all technology policies that create barriers to collaboration within these media spaces.

Rear Adm. Robert C. Parker, USCG, is the new director of security and intelligence (DSI) at Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), located in Miami. He is the only person ever to hold that title because the position was created the day he reported for duty in April; he also is the only member of the Coast Guard to hold a director position in any U.S. Defense Department command.

Disaster zones are the latest home for a system that is more often seen in command centers and Pentagon offices than in operations. The Deployable Site Transport Boundary (DSTB) is a local area network extension capability that can enable up to 200 warfighters in the field to tap into the Navy/Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) using one public Internet protocol address. The capability was developed by the U.S. Marine Corps and EDS to enable humanitarian relief efforts with a small equipment footprint.

This handheld coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing monitor/receiver is designed for a range of applications including security surveillance. The palm-sized RFX-PRX-II receiver is available in 2 gigahertz and 5.8 gigahertz versions. It is fully ruggedized with an impact-resistant plastic shell. For more information, visit www.rfcetnral.com.

Throughout the 1990s, the end of the Cold War brought with it a new approach to military doctrine. Planners throughout the newly enlarged Free World modernized their forces around information technologies. In the United States, network-centric operations became the modernization catch phrase as the military moved to embrace new enabling technologies and transform for new missions and obligations.

Superman isn’t the only one faster than a speeding bullet. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) recently achieved Milestone C on its Net-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) project six months ahead of schedule. Program personnel used a combination of a new test and evaluation master plan template and the organization’s breakthrough acquisition model to reach the milestone early. They hope to encourage other programs to speed up their processes as well.

One of AFCEA’s missions is to provide a forum for ethical dialogue between government agencies and industry. In the past, this has only taken the form of conferences, symposia and exhibitions. But today, both AFCEA and SIGNAL Magazine are forging a path in cyberspace to provide yet another avenue for discussion.

The U.S. Army’s LandWarNet program is reinventing itself as it progresses toward its goal of full connectivity from the command level down to the individual soldier. Technologies deployed in support of warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan are leading to changes in the overarching program, and capabilities introduced by the private sector are adding a new flavor to the Army’s contribution to the Global Information Grid.

Say the words “security clearance” in a conversation with defense contractors, and the vast majority has a tale to tell of long waits and missed opportunities. Those two words have people in Washington, D.C., talking too. For two years, the organizations in charge of the security clearance process have worked hard to improve it. But for many, the time for revamping the old is over, and the time for creating a new process has begun.